Under The Influence

A few moments in and I really wasn't sure about this (one should choose carefully what one listens to first thing in the morning - it can be a delicate time). At the end of the album now and I just have the typical complaint to make - far far too short. 18 minutes for Pete's sake - what a tease.

In some ways it reminds me of My Own Flag - another far too short work. This is a lot like a lighter (and heavier in some ways), more electro version of that masterpiece.

Each track is a glistening little pop beauty that hits you like a train and is gone again before you even get a chance to right yourself. It's not really 8-bit but the essence is there - that's all it takes to get me interested.

I like computer game music. In particular I like the music of the games I spent hours/days/weeks/months/years playing as a kid. Unlike most kids in NZ I had an Amstrad (CPC6128) while everyone else seemed to have Amigas and Sega systems. As a result many tunes of my childhood differ from those of others. Remember, often different themes were composed for the same game on different consoles.

I really admire the games composers of yesteryear. They had so little to work with and they managed to squeeze every bit (excuse the pun) of goodness out of it. Even as an 8 year old I recognised in this work. Just as I salute those still creating magic with little more than 8 bits I also salute those reworking the classic 8 bit tracks that have inspired the geekiest among us. Thanks to Rob Hubbard for writing this one and to Marcel for bringing it back to life.